Tuesday, April 12, 2011

April 12th, 1961

Happy 50th Birthday to April 12th, 1961. This might sound like an obscure date, unless it happens to be your 50th Birthday today, but that date, 50 years ago does represent something.

It was on that date that Yuri Gagarin, became the first human in space. This was accomplished without computers like we have today. There were no cell phones back then. Televisions were popping up in most homes but certainly didn't have PVR or recording abilities and most of them were still black&white. Back then when you rolled up the window in a car, you actually cranked a handle instead of pushing a button, hence the "roll" part.

It made me think how far we (humans) have come in that time and how quickly we change things still. Companies are designing, building and selling new electronic devices at record speeds. Just take a look at how many smart phones are available now and all the new designs coming out to compete with Apple's newest iPad. The iPhone 4 can do backflips around the Vostok 1 and it certainly doesn't weight over 5 tons - but the iPhone can't go to space!

April 12th, 1961. A day that really did change the world. A day when an apple was just an apple!